Then, Duncan Piper muttered a few more complaints, such as, "The commanders of the Northern Army are all idiots. Don't they know they should stabilize the Riverlands first? What's the point of them occupying the West without the Riverlands?"
Ethan, who had long since left the Northern Army, had no intention of arguing for his former employer. In fact, some of Duncan's views resonated with him, and he couldn't help but echo them a few times.
Jon, who was accompanying Ethan, felt increasingly uncomfortable listening to this, but he couldn't very well refute Duncan's arguments in front of his teacher, so he simply used the excuse of needing to urinate to slip away.
Seeing Jon leave, Duncan, unaware of his mistake, asked, "What happened to him?" Ethan, searching TWKAN on Google, replied with a smile, "He drank too much water, don't worry about him."
Then he asked, "What's the situation like coming from Riverrun?"
Duncan tore off a piece of hard bread with his teeth and answered, "What situation? Humph. From Riverrun to Pink City, we haven't seen a single living person. Wild dogs roam around, devouring the corpses.
In the houses of the villages, in the rivers outside the villages, on the trees by the roadside, everywhere are the bodies of those murdered by the Lannisters. The area around the Riverlands was once so prosperous, now it's as desolate as it is."
Duncan sneered, "The Westerlands are really efficient, I must say. Anything worth more than a copper coin, the Westerlands will pack up and take away, and what they can't take, they smash with hammers and burn with fire, leaving none for us Riverlands."
Hearing this, Ethan's mood grew even heavier. Without basic necessities, even if any survivors managed to escape the Westerlands army's slaughter, they couldn't possibly continue living here. They would ultimately become refugees, starving to death on their escape from war.
"White bones exposed in the wilderness, a thousand miles without a rooster's crow," it seemed there was no point in lingering in this area any longer. There were no supplies, no people, only dead villages and wandering ghosts.
Thinking about the supply problem, Ethan suddenly realized something: how had this group of people survived such a long journey? Had they also robbed their way here?
So he feigned nonchalance and asked, "That can't be right. If it's really as bad as you say, what did you dozens of people eat to get back?"
Duncan scoffed and replied, "Back in Riverrun, Lord Edmure had some rations distributed to the soldiers returning to their territory. We survived half the journey on those rations.
Although everyone in the villages along the way died, there were still some crops left in the fields. We've survived until now on potatoes, corn, and wheat that we picked from the fields."
Ethan continued to press, "Why didn't you rob civilians?"
"Are you kidding me? Not to mention there's no one left for me to rob, we're locals from Riverlands, not those beasts from the West."
Hearing this, Ethan finally felt relieved. This young cavalryman in front of him, although fond of high-level strategic talk and deeply prejudiced against the Northerners, was at least a "normal person."
So he patted his legs and stood up, saying, "Very good, since you haven't robbed civilians, I'll lend you a hand. I remember you're all injured? I happen to know a little medicine, I can take a look at you."
Duncan responded with delight, "You know medicine? That's great!
I was just thinking of finding a town where there are still living people to see if there's a doctor—what are you doing?"
Ethan went to the nearest wounded man, whose head was wrapped in blood-stained bandages, with lice-covered golden hair sticking out from the gaps in the bandages, emitting a foul, bloody stench.
As he removed the bandages, he asked, "Have you killed or robbed any civilians?"
The congealed blood had stuck the wounds and bandages tightly together, and although Ethan's movements were very gentle, the act of tearing the bandages still made the wounded man clench his fists in pain.
Even so, he dared not struggle or resist in the slightest, only slowly shaking his head and saying, "No, sir. I have never harmed any civilians; I am just a farmer."
"All right," Ethan threw the stiff, smelly, and black strip of cloth on the ground, his hands hovering over the swollen wound on the man's head, and solemnly said, "Recite with me: O Sun God, you are the symbol of light and warmth. Please light my path and warm my heart. Grant me strength and hope, and thank you for your protection."
As the wounded man recited, a faint golden light appeared above his head, and as the sound of the prayer echoed in the small room of the village office, the wound on the man's head quickly subsided and closed, healing completely without leaving any scars.
When Ethan said to him, "All right, move over and make room for me," he realized that his injury had healed. He touched his head in disbelief, "Damn, the Seven Gods! This must be a miracle from the Seven Gods!"
Then, Ethan used the same method to heal the injuries of others.
Duncan Piper, who had been observing the entire process, went from shock to acceptance, then to numbness, and finally fell silent.
After several battles, treating these few men, who only suffered superficial wounds and at most some infection and inflammation, was a piece of cake for Ethan, whose magical recovery was extremely fast. Rubbing the bloodstains from his hands, Ethan came over and told Duncan, "I have healed all the injuries your men sustained. After a couple of days of rest, they will be as lively as a rutting goat."
Only then did Duncan belatedly ask, "When I was waiting for orders outside Riverrun, I heard the refugees gathered there say that there was a saint in the Northern Army who could use magical powers to heal people for free. Was that you?"
A saint? Why has no one called me that to my face?
Ethan smiled and replied, "If I'm not mistaken, it should be me, but it could also be my students Jon and Kevin, because I took them around the refugee camp those few days."
Upon hearing this, Duncan was momentarily at a loss for words. He repeatedly knelt down on one knee before Ethan, saying in a trembling voice, "I'm sorry, great messenger of light, I didn't recognize you at all. Please forgive my rudeness!"
Ethan quickly grabbed Duncan's arm, pulled him up from the ground, and asked, "You call me messenger of light. I'm curious, what's the story about me?"
Duncan replied with deep reverence, "Those who received your kindness in the refugee camp all say that you can summon miraculous light from the Seven Gods. Whether it's external injuries or illnesses, as long as your hands touch them, they can be healed instantly. You are the messenger of light, the servant of the gods."
At this moment, the soldiers, whose injuries had healed but who had been ordered by Ethan to remain lying on the bench, heard Duncan and Ethan's conversation. Ignoring Ethan's request, they all stood up, standing there helplessly, wanting to kneel down on one knee to express their respect, but hesitating whether it was appropriate to do so.
Ethan wasn't used to this ritual of kneeling before the living, so he quickly stopped him, saying, "If you want to worship, worship the sun. I am merely one hand of the Sun God Anshe."
Duncan didn't care which god saved his subordinates, so he followed Ethan's words, saying, "Yes, may grace be upon the Sun God Anshe—"
"Anshe," Ethan added.
"Glory to the Sun God Anshe." After Duncan finished speaking, Ethan nodded to him and left the village office. He stayed in the village for another day. Elder Matt carried a heavy cloth bag and happily reported to Ethan, "Lord Ethan, the wheat has been harvested and threshed. We are extremely grateful for your protection these past few days.
This is a small token of our village's appreciation. Please accept it. Each of the other warriors will also receive one. We hope you won't find it offensive."
Taking the cloth bag from Elder Matt, Ethan weighed it in his hand. It contained about five or six pounds of unthreshed wheat.
Although this amount of food probably wouldn't last long for Ethan and his men, considering the village's current situation, it was a considerable token of their sincerity.
Ethan accepted the gift and instructed, "Elder Matt, if you encounter any further problems in the future, you can come to me again."
Elder Matt nodded and said, "Commander Ethan, I so wish you could stay in Stonebridge Village and let us receive your protection.
But I know there are countless Stonebridge Villages ahead waiting for your salvation. May the Seven Gods, may the light of the Sun God forever illuminate your path. Lord Ethan, how should I address you and your warriors?"
Ethan recalled his conversation with Duncan the day before, where Duncan called him "Lightbringer," and couldn't help but smile, "My name is Ethan Cole, Lightbringer, and my band is called 'Golden Dawn.' From now on, if you see someone carrying a red flag with a gold twelve-pointed sun, that's my team, a band of civilians."
With that, Ethan led his men, now renamed "Golden Dawn," away from Stonebridge Village.
Throughout, he never tried to find out the exact location of the secret hideout in Stonebridge Village.
But just as he stepped out of the village, Ethan heard Ghost's loud shouts from behind.
He turned and saw Duncan Piper, holding his tattered naked woman banner, trailing far behind the Golden Dawn's ranks.
Ethan frowned and instructed his two students, "Jon, call Ghost and Little Bell back. Kevin, go ask him why he's following us."
Kevin nodded, rode his Swiftfish to the back, chatted briefly with Duncan, and then the two returned to Ethan's side.
Kevin said to Duncan, "I can't decide what you're talking about. You should talk to my teacher yourself."
Duncan nodded, bowed to Ethan, and said, "Lord Ethan, Pink City is finished, and my hometown has been destroyed by the Lannisters. My brothers and I don't know where to go.
Yesterday, I heard from Elder Matt that you rescued their entire village from the Westerlands, so we want to follow you. Please accept us."
"Follow me?" Ethan looked at the four or five soldiers behind him and asked, "Why are there only a few of you?" "The others have decided to stay here and live in seclusion with the people of Stonebridge." Ethan nodded. "It's good that you stay here. You don't have to go and die anymore. What about you?
Don't you want to reconsider?
I'm a stray dog now."
"Aren't we like that now?" Duncan forced a smile in response to Ethan.
"Then let's go together, to the Golden Road, to rob Lord Tywin's gold!" Ethan said.
The Westerlands are primarily connected to the Riverlands by two land routes: one through Golden Tooth, along the River Road to Riverrun; the other via the Golden Road in the south, starting from King's Landing, heading north along the King's Road, and traversing the Riverlands.
The Golden Road is the main road in southern Westeros, beginning at the Lion's Gate in King's Landing, extending westward along the Blackwater, through the northern Reach, past Cavern, across the hills of the Westerlands, and finally reaching Casterly Rock and Lannisport, the Lannister family's homeland.
Because the Westerlands are rich in gold mines, and King's Landing and Lannisport are among the five largest ports in Westeros, this road was once a bustling hub of trade, generating immense wealth, hence its name, the Golden Road.
Now, with war breaking out, Edmure Tully of Riverrun has destroyed the River Road, and Robb Stark has sealed off its source in the west.
Lord Tywin Lannister's only recourse to obtaining supplies from the Westerlands was via the Golden Road. Therefore, Ethan planned to lead his troops to hide near the Golden Road, harassing Lord Tywin's heavy infantry and using Westerlands funds to support the Golden Dawn's army.
However, to reach the Golden Road from Stonebridge, they first had to cross the Red Fork. But Pink City was under siege by the Lannister army, and Stonebridge was a Pyrrhic enclave on the west bank of the Red Fork. Ser Duncan, after fleeing to the west bank, had scuttled all the ferries.
Therefore, they had to head north to find a crossing point not occupied by the Lannisters and cross the river from there.
However, after several days of travel, they encountered no villages or inhabitants; everywhere was a desolate, hopeless silence.
Only at the first inhabited crossing did they find that Ser Edmure had already stationed troops there to prevent a Westerlands attack.
Fortunately, the soldiers stationed at these ferry crossings had all participated in the Battle of Riverrun. Upon hearing that Ethan was the sorcerer who had established a field hospital outside the city and used his magical powers to heal the soldiers, they immediately arranged ferries for him.
In return, Ethan treated some of the wounded or sick soldiers and, at their insistence, blessed them.
Under the blazing sun, as blurry crowns rose above the soldiers' heads, everyone knelt on one knee, chanting the names of the Seven Gods. However, Ethan did not correct them; instead, he readily accepted their gratitude and led his men across the river.
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